Ellington

The UW men’s crew team will take the next step in defending its national title this weekend as both crews compete in the Pac-10 Championships on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova, Calif.

Besides establishing the pecking order of what is widely regarded as the nation’s toughest conference, the Pac-10 Championships help determine which schools get to compete at the national meets in a few weeks.

Needless to say, both teams are looking for a strong showing.

“We have a really competitive conference,” men’s team captain Ty Otto said. “So it’s always a good opportunity to get a look at what our competition’s going to look like heading into the national championships two weeks later.”

The stakes are especially high for Otto’s varsity eight, which is unanimously ranked No. 1 in the country. Although the junior-varsity and freshman boats will race on Sunday, the success of a team’s varsity boat is the only factor that counts toward qualifying for the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championships in early June. The top three finishers at Pac-10s will receive automatic bids.

“The varsity is the key factor,” men’s head coach Michael Callahan said. “Historically in rowing, the top eight is kind of the flagship of the university … I think people always want to go fastest in their top eight.”

If the Huskies win on Sunday, they will further cement themselves as favorites for a second-straight national title, a goal Otto says is “on everyone’s mind.”

After the success the men have seen this year, it’s difficult to imagine them finishing with anything other than an automatic bid. The Huskies are undefeated this season and have already beaten the teams that figure to be their toughest opposition on Sunday: No. 2 California, No. 12 Stanford and No. 18 Oregon State.

Despite facing familiar competition, Callahan emphasized the importance of winning a Pac-10 Championship. Last year’s national-championship varsity eight finished third at Pac-10s on the same course.

Located 15 minutes from Sacramento, Lake Natoma is notorious for its scorching-hot conditions. Temperatures last year maxed out at a sweltering 105 degrees, though this year they’re expected to be in the mid-70s.

On the women’s side, head coach Bob Ernst feels his team is peaking at precisely the right time. While the junior-varsity, novice and varsity-four boats have looked strong all season, the varsity eight struggled up until their past two races.

But after a solid performance against No. 1 Cal and a huge victory in the Windermere Cup, Ernst opted not to change the varsity boat’s lineup for the first time in weeks.

“I think we’ve learned a lot of stuff, and we’ve had a lot of kids make some really nice improvements as we’ve gone through the season,” he said. “I think we’ve got it as sorted-out as we’re going to get it with this population of athletes.”

In addition to five of Washington’s opponents being ranked in the top 20 of the latest USRowing Collegiate Poll, there’s another obstacle that is out of the UW’s control. Due in part to early struggles against Pac-10 competition, the Huskies will row out of lane six and likely face a stiff crosswind.

Both coaches were enthusiastic about the course — Ernst called it the best in North America — as well as the finals-only format, which means each boat will race only once. Still, Ernst knows that the race itself is what really matters.

“The bottom line is, I think we’re a better crew than we have been all year long, and I’m certainly looking forward to seeing the crews perform down there,” he said. “I think we could have a pretty exciting day at Rancho Cordova.”

Reach reporter Andrew Gospe at sports@dailyuw.com.